Gameplay Design
Level Design Pod-21 has a very simple layout of a rectangular pod divided in two halves by the support structure. The backward half is primarily occupied with the ship computer as depicted below while the forward half is occupied with bunks, storage cupboards, and other things necessary for survival. The computer dominates the room and is one of the primary sources of light, making it difficult to ignore. There are two windows on each side of the pod though none facing forward or backward, so the player can only look out of the sides of the pod. They never see what has come before and what is to come, and should give players some sense of frustration and disorientation. Progression Design The game is split into five acts, with one of the events leading up to the game's start being retold in each. Bookending each act is one of the interrupting mundane missions. Mission Design Carnothek uses occasional small 'missions' where the player is tasked with a minor bit of maintenance or with feeding themself. These moments serve as another form of break from the main gameplay, in a similar fashion to what's encouraged by the environment though in a more reliable way. These sections also serve to show in the narrative the poor readiness of Pod-21, and its probable inability to support more than one occupant. For example doing minor repairs on the oxygen filtration system though lacking the tools for a full repair. Cutscene Design There is a limited use of cutscenes in the game to bookend important sections of the game. The game intros with a small cutscene as the player experiences the pod launching out of the Carnothek, and also does so at the end as the log is finished and they are presented with the game's end. In that instance there is four options that will play out based on the attitude the player mostly adopted through the dialogue. These scenes are presented as cutscenes to keep with the relaxed control scheme of the game and to allow them to focus on thinking and examining the scene rather than being caught up in controls. Game Mechanic Design Carnothek has easy to understand mechanics that do not require a tutorial to teach them, instead they UI makes apparent and the early dialogue carries no consequences allowing players to learn it by experimentation. Dialogue Design A standard dialogue wheel is used with four options presented at any given time. It is used for its familiarity and easily grasped design. The dialogue follows a pine tree structure, where the dialogue branches off before returning to a central point through an interruption in the dialogue. Dialogue does not return to an earlier point, and instead aims to emulate actual dialogue. The limited scope of the rest of the game allows for a commitment to developing this. Dialogue choices in earlier acts do not open up dialogue in further sections but rather will close off redundant dialogue or dialogue that would no longer match the personality the player has followed. These are represented by a blurred out option on the dialogue wheel. Delivery will be seen through the player's character typing into the computer and it responding, and there will be no audible dialogue. User Interface Design Carnothek uses a mimimal User Interface in order to make sure it doesn't draw the player out of the experience and potentially feel less immersed. It uses a simple blueprint style presented in a muted white with diagetic sounds in response to user interaction. For mundane actions it features context prompts similar to quick-time events while for the primary gameplay of the game, dialogue, it utilises a standard dialogue wheel. The dialogue is presented when the player is interacting with the computer and recording their log. It presents four options at any given time and presents these all neutrally. As much dialogue as can be reasonably given is present on the wheel, it's important that there is minimal confusion about what an option should lead to in such a dialogue-centric experience. When the gameplay is broken up and the player transitions between the two gameplay states there is no onscreen presentation of this and instead it is presented through dialogue hints. This also applies to progress within the mundane action sequences.